一项新的研究表明,每天只能喝一杯酒

Limit Alcohol to Just One Drink a Day, New Study Says

This is What’s Trending Today…

A huge international study has found that adults should not drink more than, on average, one alcoholic¹ drink a day.

That means drinking advisements in many countries around the world may be far too loose.

The study was published this week in The Lancet.

Dr. Angela Wood of Cambridge University led the research. The work combined results from 83 studies carried out in 19 countries. It considered about 600,000 people who drank alcohol.

The study found that people who drink more than seven drinks a week can expect to die sooner than those who drink less.

The United States government currently advises no more than seven drinks a week for women and 14 for men. Those limits are based on earlier studies that found women are more affected² by alcohol than men.

Canada and Sweden have similar guidelines.

British guidelines were also similar until two years ago. That is when British health officials brought the upper limit for men down to the same limit as women.

Some countries have much higher limits, however. Spain and Romania both suggest drinking as many as 20 alcoholic drinks per week for men is acceptable.

The new study estimates that 40-year-old men who drink as much as current U.S. guidelines suggest can expect to live one to two years less than men who have no more than seven drinks per week.

David Jernigan, an alcohol researcher at Johns Hopkins University, told the Associated Press, “if you’re really concerned about your longevity³, don’t have more than one drink a day.” Jernigan was not involved in the study.

The study “is a serious wake-up call for many countries,” Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation said in a statement. The group supported the study financially.

About half of the people included in the study said they had more than 100 grams of alcohol per week. The researchers found a higher risk of stroke, heart failure and other problems in that group of heavier drinkers. That may partly be because alcohol can increase blood pressure and change cholesterol⁴ levels, the researchers said.

The heavier drinkers were also less likely to have a heart attack, the study found. However, the overall effects of drinking more than seven drinks a week are more bad than good, lead researcher Wood said.

The results of the study quickly became a trending discussion worldwide. As one person wrote, the news was “not a good story to read on a Friday,” as workers and students prepare to celebrate the start of the weekend.

And that’s What’s Trending Today….

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

longevity - ?n. long life: the fact of living for many years

wake-up call - ?n. ?something that makes you fully⁵ understand a problem, danger, or need

cholesterol - ?n. ?a substance that is found in the bodies of people and animals

per - prep. ?for each

1 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

4 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。